"AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!"
Xiao Wei paced back and forth in front of a door, from which guttural screams were echoing in the long hall.
"Master, please calm down," an old man wearing blue cultivation robes said to the middle-aged man. "Nothing will happen to the mistress!" he reassured. After all, the mistress was one of the peak experts of this realm. If something were to happen to her while giving birth, then others might as well be dead.
"I know, Old Lao. But I cannot keep my heart still. What if, what if something happens to them? Wait, should I just go in? I should go on, right? Yes, I should do just that!"
Old Lao sighed in exhaustion as he looked at his master, trying to enter the room for the hundredth time. "Master, have you forgotten that the mistress has forbidden you from entering?!"
Xiao Wei stood frozen in his place, his hand holding the door, his eyes quivering with fear. He recalled what had happened an hour ago: his wife threw him out, calling him a wuss for getting scared.
"I-I'll wait…." He mumbled as he backed out from the door, his body trembling once in a while. His wife can really be scary.
"AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
Another guttural scream came from behind the door, but Xiao Wei couldn't go in. He resumed pacing back and forth, which only earned another sigh from Old Lao.
But as the moments passed and the screams continued, a frown crept up both Xiao Wei's and Old Lao's brows. They both turned to their right, their expressions turning into ones of annoyance and anger.
Just then, from down the hallway, a soldier came running towards them with a shocked expression on his face. And before he could even reach them, Xiao Wei barked at the man as he flared his aura at the soldier, "Bastards! Haven't I told you not to disturb us?! You want to die?!"
The soldier froze in his steps, Xiao Wei's aura pressing him down like a mountain. His eyes widened in fear as he scrambled to explain why he was here while Old Lao was watching this silently, waiting for the soldier's impudence.
"M-Master, the sky!" The soldier exclaimed, still overcome with fear. Watching this, Xiao Wei had become even more furious. "Fuck! Tell it fast and scram!"
"M-Master! The sky has turned golden!"
"...."
"...."
Xiao Wei's aura had vanished into thin air as both the Master and the Old Lao stared at each other, their looks one of disbelief, and just then,
"AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!" Another scream came from behind the door, snapping them both out of their daze.
"Old Lao…"
"...Master."
"...did I hear it right?"
"I think so, Master."
Xiao Wei then turned to the soldier, his voice much calmer this time, yet a hint of eagerness and disbelief could be heard: "You, explain!"
The soldier was surprised by the sudden change; he was confused as to what was happening, but under the intense gaze of the two, he didn't dare to delay. "Master, I was manning the gate when suddenly the sky turned golden! The defense pavilion master was there too, and he was the one to send me to inform the master!"
A beat of silence filled the hallway, causing the soldier to close his eyes in fear, dreading the oncoming punishment. But suddenly,
BOOM
BOOM
Two sonic booms echoed in the air while the soldier felt two strong gusts of wind pass by him, almost sending him flying. And by the moment he opened his eyes, he was alone. The master and the strategist were nowhere to be seen.
....
Outside, people came out of their homes and looked up at the sky to see the grand spectacle. Soldiers left their posts, merchants halted their trade, and the powerhouses came out of their abodes. The entire realm has seemed to have come to a stop to witness this.
"This…," Xiao Wei mumbled in wonder as he floated in the air, staring up at the sky filled with golden clouds, shining brighter than the sun.
Behind him were Old Lao and a dozen other men and women, floating in the air as they gazed at the sky.
"...is that what I think it is?" One of the men asked the group, his gaze never leaving the clouds.
"I believe so," answered a woman. She then turned to Old Lao. "Senior Lao, is this…."
He was the most learned in the group and also considered to be the wisest.
"Yes," Old Lao muttered, "This is the same phenomenon that happened in that myth—heaven's smile!"
The group's jaws dropped in shock; although they were doubtful at first, Old Lao's words have confirmed them. And just then,
"Hahahaha!" Xiao Wei began to laugh like a madman, his face almost brighter than the golden sky. "The heavens have blessed the Xiao family!" He yelled at the top of his lungs.
The group behind him, too, began to celebrate, smiling and laughing as they looked at each other, although they wouldn't be laughing in a few moments.
Suddenly, as if someone flipped a switch, the bright, golden clouds began to darken, turning pitch black while an ominous aura began to spread.
"W-What is happening?!" The people began to scurry away into their homes while the beasts in the forests ran into their burrows. The experts around the realm frowned as thunder brewed across the black clouds.
People might not know what the golden sky meant, but everyone, even the dumbest child, knows what dark black clouds mean—Heaven's punishment.
BAM
Black lightning, almost as thick as a man's arm, hit the Xiao family's manor, destroying its roof as it traveled down further.
"NO!!" Xiao Wei screamed at the top of his lungs as he lunged forth towards his manor. His heart thumped against his chest while his face was stricken with dread.
But before he could move, Old Lao grabbed him, stopping him from going towards the manor. "Master, no! Interfering with the heavens' punishment will only further anger the heavens!"
But Xiao Wei wasn't willing to listen; his cultivation exploded as an immense, crushing weight tried to pin Old Lao down. "Let me go!!" He roared.
But Old Lao wasn't weak either; he released his aura, almost matching Xiao Wei's, and turned to the group.
"What the fuck are you guys staring at?! Come help me!" Old Lao barked at them, who immediately flew towards Xiao Wei and began to restrict him.
Xiao Wei continued to struggle against the group, but he was just one. Tears rolled down his cheeks as sadness overcame him. "Please, let me go…!" He pleaded.
But as if to mock him,
BAM
Another lightning hit the manor, the same spot the first one hit, and this time, it didn't stop.
BAM
BAM
BAM
.
.
.
Lightning continued to hit the manor, each strike fiercer than the last. And each strike hit precisely at the same spot, not destroying anything else.
In total, the lightning hit the manor almost ninety-nine times before the dark clouds dispersed.
Old Lao's expression darkened; he clenched his fists as he glared at the heavens. Why mock them? Why mock them by bringing the heaven's smile and then the punishment?! But alas, he knew the heavens wouldn't care to give him an answer.
The group slowly descended down to the manor, flying into the gaping hole before they landed inside a room. The same room Xiao Wei was pacing in front of just minutes ago.
But as the group looked around the room, they were shocked. Nothing was touched, and nothing was destroyed. If it weren't for them personally witnessing the lightning and the gaping hole, they wouldn't have believed that the heavens punishment had descended on this very place.
In fact, not only was the room untouched, it was practically illuminated in golden light. This confused the group, including Xiao Wei.
He walked towards the massive bed at the corner of the room. "Hua'er, what happened…?" He asked his wife, who was resting in the bed with two babies at her side, a boy and a girl.
"I-I don't know…!" His wife replied, her voice coarse from all the screaming. She turned to her husband with a dazed expression on her tear-streaked face. "After I gave birth to Yu'er and Tian'er, Yu'er began to glow in golden light. I thought the heavens had smiled upon our child, but then suddenly, heaven's punishment descended on Tian'er, but…"
Yu Hua's face twisted in confusion; even though he was just right by her son as the lightning descended, she still couldn't believe it. "...Tian'er's fine. Nothing happened to him!"
"What…?" Xiao Wei couldn't believe what his wife was saying, he turned to his son, who was sleeping peacefully, and sure enough, he couldn't see any visible injuries on his son.
This confused him even more, if the heavens wanted to punish his son, he surely wouldn't have come unscathed. But he wasn't injured in the slightest; so then why did the heavens send black lightning?! Xiao Wei couldn't understand what the heavens were thinking.
But just then, Old Lao walked past Xiao Wei, his expression darkening with each step. And as he reached the bed, his grim voice echoed in the room,
"Master….the young master doesn't have a dantian!"